PROTEST: There's no fracking way

MAKING their way through the streets of Maryborough, a group of protesters made their presence known chanting: "What do we want? Gas free. When do we want it? Now."

On Sunday morning, protesters on foot and horse marched from Heritage Rose Park to Queens Park for the Water4Life ride to fight against proposed future shale gas projects in Wide Bay Burnett.

Wal Nielson performs Stand:
Local musician Wal Nielson performs his original song titled 'Stand' at the Water 4 Life protest in Maryborough on Sunday.

Regional Coordinator of Lock the Gate and the event, Vicki Perrin, said having worked in the mining industry, she could see both sides to the argument however the risks to water were "far too great."

"Water is the most important thing on the planet and we are the driest continent on the planet (so) why would we poison our water?" she said.

"So many places rely on ground water and fracking has been proven in the US by the EPA (Environment Protection Authority) that it contaminated all the ground water but the government won't listen to that."

The act of shale gas fracking is a mining technique of drilling and injecting fluid into the earth at high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks and release natural gas inside.

However, such a technique has invited criticism due to possible effects it could have on water supplies and air pollution.

Member for Maryborough, Bruce Saunders, who previously said future shale gas projects could "frack off", was in attendance for the protest and commended the efforts of those involved.

Guy McLean shares his poem:
The Man from Susan River, Guy McLean reads a poem he wrote specifically for the Water 4 Life protest held on Sunday in Maryborough.

"It's good to see people get out there and make sure they let governments know how they feel," he said.

"I really like to see people do that." Ms Perrin said there were now 20 communities declared gas field free in Wide Bay Burnett.

"The idea of people not coming out to support this when there's an overwhelming opposition to gas fields - why wouldn't you expect a lot of people?" she said. "Not only will it affect our drinking water, it affects our farmers who heavily depend on groundwater."

The protest featured internationally renowned horse whisperer dubbed The Man from Susan River, Guy McLean, making his mark with a poem dedicated the fight against fracking. Local country singer Wal Nielson also performed a song he wrote about fracking making for a moving end to the event.